Earnings Performance: IBM delivered adjusted quarterly earnings of $4.18, up 16% year-over-year, exceeding analysts' consensus expectation by 2.5%. By comparison, IBM has an historical earnings beat rate of 4.3% and it has exceeded expectations by a single-digit percentage in 11 consecutive quarters. The adjusted sales figure, up 6.6% from the year-earlier quarter, beat expectations by 2.6%. By comparison, IBM has an historical sales beat rate of negative 0.4%. Furthermore, it has missed analysts' consensus sales forecasts in five of the past 11 quarters.

Dividend Information: IBM pays a quarterly dividend of 65 cents, converting to an annual yield of 1.7%. Although its stock isn't among the highest-yielding in the Dow, it has the best dividend growth over a five-year span, having boosted the payout 26% a year, on average. It has increased the dividend 19% a year, on average, over a three-year span, also topping the Dow. Furthermore, its payout ratio is traditionally conservative, alleviating income worry.

Analyst Opinions: Currently, 18, or 67%, of analysts covering IBM advise purchasing its stock and nine recommend holding it. No analysts advocate selling. IBM ranks in the middle of the Dow, at 12th, for net rating. It has a median 12-month target of $155.83.